Count on Me
by heyevans
Summary: There is no volunteering in this 74th annual Hunger Games, and so Prim must rely on her sister's closest friend for survival. One-shot AU.


The edges of his vision are black as he climbs the steps to the stage. He can't feel his body. Can't think. He's on autopilot.

Once he's situated himself the world starts coming back. He can hear Katniss screaming, can feel Prim's warmth. She's shaking, and he grabs her hand to try and calm her down. If she starts to cry, things will be worse.

The only way to keep his face a mask, his posture impeccable, the fear from his eyes, is to keep the rest of the world in a haze. And so he does, remains unresponsive and cold until he is finally alone.

Katniss is the first to come in and say goodbye. He's surprised. Prim should be her first priority.

She wrings her hands. "Gale," she says.

"You can count on me," he tells her. It sounds ridiculous, but they both know what he means: I will protect Prim. I will do it for Katniss.

Haymitch looks disgusted as Prim cries on the train to the capitol. It takes all of Gale's willpower not to get up and wring his neck.

Cinna is a brilliant stylist, even Gale has to admit. As a male, there isn't much that Cinna could do to him without making him look outlandish, like someone from the capitol, but the transformation Prim undergoes is stunning. She appears to have aged several years in the mere several hours since they started preparing for the tribute parade, while still retaining a natural look, like everything that had been done to her merely accentuated already existing features rather than created whole new ones, like the people _here_. Her interview dress was even more stunning. Not quite as flaming as during the tribute parade, but gorgeous, like she was covered in thousands of tiny rubies.

Training is a nightmare. He steers clear of the snares, as he knows how to make _them _like he knows how to tie a shoe. He lifts weights and practices climbing and tries out the Capitol bows. They're heavier than the ones back in District Twelve, and getting used to them provides a welcome distraction from the fact that Prim is hopeless at practically every topic being taught. The only thing she can do is recognize and apply herbs, and _that's _not exactly the most useful skill. The Careers think it's hilarious, and aren't at all above harassing her, or him for that matter.

The clothes he has to wear into the arena are comfortable, and it makes him sick.

He grabs a backpack and an axe at the Cornucupia. He uses the axe to kill the male tribute from Four. He's glad that Prim runs off immediately and doesn't see it.

When he has stopped running away from the bloodbath, seemingly after hours, he pukes into a bush, and it's all he can do to keep from crying. _He killed a boy. _A little boy.

There's a water bottle in the backpack and he fills it in a river. Sets traps. Waits out the night. He doesn't sleep. Cat naps, maybe, but he doesn't sleep.

When he goes to check the snares the next morning, one of the Careers – Marvel – is playing with his prey. He raises his axe to fight him, but Marvel insists that he stop, that the become allies. He weighs his options. He needs to find Prim. She is not dead yet. The Careers are the most powerful players on the board. He can use their resources to his advantage.

He teams up with the careers.

It isn't for another day and a half that he finds Prim. She's holed up beneath some massive tree roots, covered in burns and feverish. He shakes her awake and she would have screamed at the sight of him if he didn't press a hand over her mouth.

The Careers will not let Prim into their pack, he knows this, and so he steals some supplies and leaves with her. But the Careers want revenge. They make killing him their first priority, and they stalk the District 12 tributes around the arena, giving them no time to rest.

Somehow Prim befriends the female tribute from District 11 – Rue – and suddenly he's responsible for two twelve year olds.

Not for long, though. They're circling around the site of the Cornucupia when Marvel kills her. Prim cries more and Gale puts his axe in District 1's head.

Canon after canon rings out. He does the math. There are only six left now: Cato, Clove, District 11's Thresh, Prim, him, and another, foxlike ginger girl who he's started calling Red in his mind.

Thresh kills Clove at a wretchedly early morning. Cato gets his revenge not five hours later. In a bloodthirsty rage, he corners Gale and Prim. Prim runs and Gale fends him off, but as the only Career left Cato has been in sole possession of almost all the food and supplies in the arena. He is in peak shape, whereas Gale has been giving most of whatever he can get his hands on to Prim. And yet their fight drags on. Prim doesn't cry when she runs, their pack awkward on her back, but when the canon booms after at least an hour, probably two, she does.

Gale is dead, head smashed into a boulder but covered in cuts and bruises besides. Cato isn't faring much better – his left hand has been cut completely off by Gale's axe and he's bleeding heavily. He can hardly breathe for the blood in his mouth that has leaked down his throat. He chases after Prim, but by nightfall he is dead, too.

Red and Prim are pushed together by the gamemakers. Red outruns an apocalyptic shower of fireballs and Prim is forced out of the woods when the trees start spraying knifelike needles.

When they meet by the Cornucupia, Red has every advantage. Size, height, experience, ability. Prim doesn't even try to run. She know it would be useless.

"Please. Don't hurt me," she says. "Kill me, but don't hurt me."

Red smiles sadly and pulls a root from her pocket. "If you insist."

Prim nods in understanding. She takes the root and eats it. In less than a minute she is dead.

The final canon booms and they have their victor.

.

.

.

**In case you hadn't figured it out, Red is Foxface.**


End file.
